editorNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94After nearly a decade as an award-winning Foreign Correspondent with NPR's international desk, Eric Westervelt returned in September 2013 to domestic news with a new national beat covering American education as an Education Correspondent.In this role, he covers the news, issues, and trends in classrooms across the country, from pre-K to higher education. He has a strong interest in the multiple ways in which technology is disrupting traditional pedagogy.Westervelt recently returned from a 2013 John S Knight Journalism Fellowship at Stanford University. The fellowship focused on journalistic innovation, leadership, entrepreneurship and the future of news.Previously, he was a foreign correspondent based in the Middle East and then Europe. From 2009 to 2012 Westervelt was Berlin Bureau Chief and Correspondent coverage a broad range of news across Europe from the debt crisis to political challenges in Eastern Europe. In 2011 and 2012 his work included coverage of the revolutions in NorthNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Eric WesterveltSat, 26 Nov 2016 09:37:57 +0000Eric Westervelthttp://wrvo.org
Eric WesterveltPresident-elect Donald Trump has picked billionaire Betsy DeVos, a Michigan Republican activist and philanthropist who is a strong supporter of school choice but has limited experience with public education, as his secretary of education.DeVos, 58, is a former chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party and helped push a failed 2000 ballot proposal to amend the Michigan state Constitution to create a voucher system for students to attend nonpublic schools.DeVos is chairman of The Windquest Group, a Michigan-based investment management company. She is married to billionaire Richard DeVos Jr., the son of Richard DeVos, who co-founded the home care products company Amway.Trump, in a statement, called DeVos "a brilliant and passionate education advocate." He added that she would have the leadership ability to "break the bureaucracy that is holding our children back."Largely unknown outside of Michigan political and philanthropic circles, her appointment signals that Trump intends to makeTrump Chooses Betsy DeVos For Education Secretaryhttp://wrvo.org/post/trump-chooses-betsy-devos-education-secretary
96416 as http://wrvo.orgWed, 23 Nov 2016 20:14:00 +0000Trump Chooses Betsy DeVos For Education SecretaryEric WesterveltWe've always been a hands-on, DIY kind of nation. Ben Franklin didn't just invent the lightning rod. His creations include bifocals, swim fins, the catheter, innovative stoves and more.Franklin, who was largely self-taught, may have been a genius, but he wasn't really an outlier when it comes to American making and tinkering.The personal computing revolution and ethos of disruptive innovation of Silicon Valley grew, in part, out of the tinkerings of the Homebrew Computer Club, which was founded in a garage in Menlo Park, Calif., in the mid-1970s.Members — including guys named Jobs and Wozniak — started making and inventing things they couldn't buy.So it's no surprise that the Maker Movement today is thriving in communities and some schools across America. Making is available to ordinary people who aren't tied to big companies, big defense labs or research universities.The maker philosophy echoes old ideas espoused by Dewey, Montessori, and even ancient Greek philosophers, as we pointedOn The Lesson Plan: Make Stuff. Fail. Learn While You're At Ithttp://wrvo.org/post/lesson-plan-make-stuff-fail-learn-while-youre-it
96031 as http://wrvo.orgMon, 14 Nov 2016 10:50:00 +0000On The Lesson Plan: Make Stuff. Fail. Learn While You're At ItEric WesterveltMaybe the smart phone's hegemony makes perfect evolutionary sense: Humans are tapping a deep urge to seek out information. Our ancient food-foraging survival instinct has evolved into an info-foraging obsession; one that prompts many of us today to constantly check our phones and multitask.Monkey see. Click. Swipe. Reward.A new book The Distracted Mind: Ancient Brains in a High Tech World explores the implications of, and brain science behind, this evolution (some might say devolution). It was written Adam Gazzaley, a neurologist and a professor at the University of California, San Francisco, and research psychologist Larry D. Rosen.Our friends at NPR's Shots blog recently spoke with one of the authors about distraction's impact on productivity. I wanted to talk with Dr. Gazzaley about what his research tells us about teaching, learning, studying and screen time in the age of digital distraction.From food foragers to information foragers. Mechanisms that developed in our brain forLearning In The Age Of Digital Distractionhttp://wrvo.org/post/learning-age-digital-distraction
95648 as http://wrvo.orgSat, 05 Nov 2016 09:01:00 +0000Learning In The Age Of Digital DistractionEric WesterveltAn 8-year-old named Ben is sitting quietly by himself in a bean bag in a classroom in Mountain View, Calif. He's writing in his journal, an assignment he created himself."This one was, 'What I Wish We Would Have More Of,' " Ben says, reading to me from his notebook. "I hope we have more field trips." He stops and looks up. "I have more entries, but I don't want to share them."That's cool; it's your journal, Ben.I ask him, What is it you like about your school?"You can move at your own pace," he says. "You don't have to be with everyone else. I like that."About an hour away, in Oakland, an eighth-grader named Khalil is finishing a small speaker and audio recorder he's building."This is just a spring coil, so I'm going to solder right now," he explains, unpacking a small soldering iron. He's also an expert with a glue gun, a needle and thread, and basic welding and power tools. "I just love making. Exploring different things. I can be creative, do what I want," Khalil says. "It reallyFreedom To Explore: 2 Schools Where The Students Call The Shotshttp://wrvo.org/post/freedom-explore-2-schools-where-students-call-shots
95470 as http://wrvo.orgTue, 01 Nov 2016 10:00:00 +0000Freedom To Explore: 2 Schools Where The Students Call The ShotsEric WesterveltCopyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit SIEGEL, HOST: It's time now for a Platform Check - when we examine what Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump say they would do if they become president. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDINGS) HILLARY CLINTON: Raise the national minimum wage so people... DONALD TRUMP: We're going to have the biggest tax cut since Ronald Reagan. CLINTON: We have to reform our criminal justice system. TRUMP: A very, very strong border. SIEGEL: Today, we're going to hear about education. The candidates aren't saying much about it in these final weeks of the campaign, but voters often tell pollsters it's a top issue. And to dissect where Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump stand is NPR's Eric Westervelt, who covers education for us. Hello, Eric. ERIC WESTERVELT, BYLINE: Hi, Robert. SIEGEL: Education is a local responsibility. Why should we pay so much attention to what the presidential candidates are saying about education? WESTERVELT: It is largely local, but the feds still havePlatform Check: What Trump And Clinton Have To Say About Educationhttp://wrvo.org/post/what-trump-and-clinton-have-say-about-education
95358 as http://wrvo.orgFri, 28 Oct 2016 22:30:00 +0000Platform Check: What Trump And Clinton Have To Say About EducationEric WesterveltThe National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, is called The Nation's Report Card for good reason; the tests are administered the same way year after year, using the same kind of test booklets, to students across the country.That allows researchers and educators to compare student progress over time. NAEP tests serve as a big research project to benchmark academic achievement in subjects like science, math, reading, writing, civics, economics, geography and U.S. history.Science results were out Thursday for 4th, 8th, and 12th graders.Among seniors, achievement was flat, and performance gaps by race, ethnicity and gender persisted.But fourth- and eighth-graders showed modest progress: each up four points since 2009.That's encouraging to U.S. Secretary of Education John King, who said in a press call, "We're seeing racial achievement gaps in the sciences narrowing in the fourth and eighth grades ... and the gender gaps also are closing.""All of this means that more studentsNational Science Test Scores Are Out, But What Do They Really Tell Us?http://wrvo.org/post/national-science-test-scores-are-out-what-do-they-really-tell-us
95277 as http://wrvo.orgThu, 27 Oct 2016 09:09:00 +0000National Science Test Scores Are Out, But What Do They Really Tell Us?Eric Westervelt For Ross Roberts, it was a lack of resources that drove him from the classroom. For Danielle Painton, it was too much emphasis on testing. For Sergio Gonzalez, it was a nasty political environment.Welcome to the U.S. teaching force, where the "I'm outta here" rate is an estimated 8 percent a year — twice that of high-performing countries like Finland or Singapore. And that 8 percent is a lot higher than other professions.The teaching force is "a leaky bucket, losing hundreds of thousands of teachers each year — the majority of them before retirement age," says a recent report from the Learning Policy Institute.Why are so many teachers leaving?There are, of course, many reasons both personal and professional.Let's start with money. While teachers don't get into the profession for the dough, money is a factor. Beginning teachers make about 20 percent less than college graduates in other fields.But overall, teachers and researchers say, educators want a bigger voice in school policies andWhat Are The Main Reasons Teachers Call It Quits?http://wrvo.org/post/what-are-main-reasons-teachers-call-it-quits
95155 as http://wrvo.orgMon, 24 Oct 2016 10:00:00 +0000What Are The Main Reasons Teachers Call It Quits?Eric WesterveltIt's 8:30 a.m. and the sun is already heating up the artificial turf at Banning High School's football field. Some 70 ninth- and 10th-graders line up on their stomachs for push-ups.For some of these kids, the "push-up ready" pose looks like a cross between an aborted yoga position and a nap."Come on! Butts down, hips off the ground, shoulders over your hand!" barks Los Angeles Fire Capt. Eddie Marez."Down!""One, sir!" the sleepy students shout."Didn't say 'up' yet. Start all over!" Marez yells.The students, dressed in blue T-shirts and shorts that say "LAFD Academy," try again in unison.Most students don't make it to 10.The morning workout at this school in LA's Wilmington neighborhood is part of two new LAFD magnet programs. The department hopes to inspire future firefighters or emergency medical technicians — and boost diversity — in a department that remains 96.5 percent male and about 50 percent white.Indeed, LA isn't alone. Nationally, the firefighting ranks are largely white andCan A School District Help Diversify A Fire Department?http://wrvo.org/post/can-school-district-help-diversify-fire-department
94431 as http://wrvo.orgWed, 05 Oct 2016 10:00:00 +0000Can A School District Help Diversify A Fire Department?Eric WesterveltThe good news: There's an uptick in the hiring of new teachers since the pink-slip frenzy in the wake of the Great Recession.The bad news: The new hiring hasn't made up for the teacher shortfall. Attrition is high, and enrollment in teacher preparation programs has fallen some 35 percent over the past five years — a decrease of nearly 240,000 teachers in all. Parts of most every state in America face troubling teacher shortages: the most frequent shortage areas are math, science, bilingual education and special education.We've covered many sides of the shortage issue, including the disconnect between training and districts' needs; how the accountability obsession and paperwork are driving some good veteran teachers away; what factors help teachers stick around; as well as efforts to improve training for special-ed teachers to stem that field's attrition and chronic shortage.Two comprehensive new reports on the issue, from the nonprofit and nonpartisan Learning Policy Institute, offerFrustration. Burnout. Attrition. It's Time To Address The National Teacher Shortage http://wrvo.org/post/frustration-burnout-attrition-its-time-address-national-teacher-shortage
93689 as http://wrvo.orgThu, 15 Sep 2016 14:18:00 +0000Frustration. Burnout. Attrition. It's Time To Address The National Teacher Shortage Eric WesterveltRecent studies and government reports continue to highlight what many American's know by their wallets: Rising income differences, debt and stagnant real wages are among the biggest problems besetting the nation.That economic inequality is reflected in America's schools, right? Absolutely.But a study just out shows that the gap in school readiness between rich and poor children entering kindergarten closed significantly — by 10 to 16 percent --from 1998 to 2010. Some ethnic/racial achievement gaps declined as well.I spoke with the study's lead author, Sean Reardon, a professor of poverty and inequality in education at Stanford University.Your study's results are kind of surprising given the widening income inequality over the same period, no?Yeah, actually really quite surprising. Certainly it wasn't the finding we expected when we started the study. We thought because income and equality continued to grow and because achievement gaps had been growing for several decades, we thought weSurprise! Amid Rising Inequality, One School Gap Is Narrowinghttp://wrvo.org/post/surprise-amid-rising-inequality-one-school-gap-narrowing
92963 as http://wrvo.orgSun, 28 Aug 2016 10:00:00 +0000Surprise! Amid Rising Inequality, One School Gap Is NarrowingEric WesterveltTake a look this summer inside some of America's garages, museums and libraries and you'll see that the "maker movement" is thriving.This hands-on, DIY culture of inventors, tinkerers and hackers is inspiring adults and children alike to design and build everything from sailboats and apps to solar cars.And this fall, more of these chaotic workspaces, stocked with glue guns, drills and hammers, will be popping up in schools, too.But the maker movement faces some big hurdles as it pushes into classrooms.Here's the first big one:Schools "are not thinking about it as an instructional tool," says Chris O'Brien, a former teacher who helps schools create maker and project-based learning spaces in New York City.He says schools make a big mistake if these programs are merely a popular elective with the hip teacher, or the place to go after school to play with wood, cloth or a 3-D printer.Schools that embrace making, he says, need to find a thoughtful place for maker projects in the school's3 Challenges As Hands-On, DIY Culture Moves Into Schoolshttp://wrvo.org/post/3-challenges-hands-diy-culture-moves-schools
91327 as http://wrvo.orgThu, 21 Jul 2016 14:04:00 +00003 Challenges As Hands-On, DIY Culture Moves Into SchoolsEric WesterveltMost everyone knows someone adversely affected by student debt: More than 40 million Americans are shouldering a crippling $1.3 trillion in loans.That burden is obstructing careers, families, dreams, employment and even retirement.Uncle Sam and Wall Street have made lots of money off the crisis.We've covered this issue in many ways, including the debates, the players, tips for easing debt, how debt is affecting young people's decision making and a lot more.But how did we get here? Who has profited most and how?The Center for Investigative Reporting and its weekly radio show Reveal recently dug deep into these questions and profiled people who've been affected. I reached out to CIR reporter Lance Williams, who co-investigated the story with journalist James B. Steel. Here's an excerpt of our conversation.Let's talk about the student lending giant Sallie Mae. You report how the decision to privatize Sallie Mae in 1997 played a huge role in helping to create this debt crisis. Explain'I'm A Student-Debt Slave.' How'd We Get Here? http://wrvo.org/post/im-student-debt-slave-howd-we-get-here
90848 as http://wrvo.orgMon, 11 Jul 2016 11:07:00 +0000'I'm A Student-Debt Slave.' How'd We Get Here? Eric WesterveltAfter some 10,000 online tutorials in 10 years, Sal Khan still starts most days at his office desk in Silicon Valley, recording himself solving math problems for his Khan Academy YouTube channel."OK, let F of X equal A times X to the N plus," he says cheerfully as he begins his latest.Khan Academy has helped millions of people around the world — perhaps hundreds of millions — learn math, science and other subjects for free.But these days, just one flight of stairs down from his office, there is a real school that couldn't be more different in form and structure from those online lectures.Most Fridays, the lunch option includes a Socratic dialogue with Khan himself on a wide range of issues, ideas and trends."So the last couple of seminars we've been talking about technologies that will potentially change the world," the 39-year-old Louisiana native tells the students. "We did self-driving cars, virtual reality; we talked about life extension, and robots."He's sitting on a picnic tableFrom YouTube Pioneer Sal Khan, A School With Real Classroomshttp://wrvo.org/post/youtube-pioneer-sal-khan-school-real-classrooms
90413 as http://wrvo.orgThu, 30 Jun 2016 09:03:00 +0000From YouTube Pioneer Sal Khan, A School With Real ClassroomsEric WesterveltSome college lectures aren't just dull, they're ineffective. Discuss, people.You did. Our recent stories on the Nobel Prize winning Stanford physicist who's pushing for big changes in how large universities teach science to undergraduates generated lots of interest, comments, questions, shares and listens — online and on NPR One.Professor Carl Wieman is a huge proponent of ditching the large lecture in favor of evidence-based, active learning techniques. Several studies have shown that these methods boost student learning, grades and knowledge retention, reduce failure rates and even improve attendance."If the data says it improves learning, you ought to seriously be thinking about doing it," Wieman told me.We wanted to follow up on some of the most-frequent issues you asked about.The stories focused mainly on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects. Do active learning teaching methods work as well in the humanities and social sciences?Yes, advocates say,Listeners Got Active About Our Active Learning Stories http://wrvo.org/post/listeners-got-active-about-our-active-learning-stories
87645 as http://wrvo.orgSat, 23 Apr 2016 10:55:00 +0000Listeners Got Active About Our Active Learning Stories Eric WesterveltBloodletting to keep the "humors" in balance was a leading medical treatment from ancient Greece to the late 19th century. That's hard to believe now, in the age of robot-assisted surgery, but "doctors" trusted lancets and leeches for centuries.To Nobel laureate Carl Wieman, the college lecture is the educational equivalent of bloodletting, one long overdue for revision."It's a very good analogy," the Stanford professor says. "You let some blood out and go away and they get well. Was it bloodletting that did it, or something else?"The large college lecture — the cornerstone of undergraduate education in America and much of the world today — is similar, Wieman argues. "You give people lectures, and [some students] go away and learn the stuff. But it wasn't that they learned it from lecture — they learned it from homework, from assignments. When we measure how little people learn from an actual lecture, it's just really small."For Wieman, the fact that most colleges and universities donA Nobel Laureate's Education Plea: Revolutionize Teaching http://wrvo.org/post/nobel-laureates-education-plea-revolutionize-teaching
87237 as http://wrvo.orgThu, 14 Apr 2016 10:27:00 +0000A Nobel Laureate's Education Plea: Revolutionize Teaching Eric WesterveltJohn B. King Jr was recently confirmed by the Senate as the new U.S. Secretary of Education for the remainder of President Obama's term, succeeding Arne Duncan.With a slew of pressing issues from pre-K to college debt, I wanted to find out what King thinks he can get done in such a short window of time. Here's our conversation.You've got just 10 months left in President Obama's term to help close the equity and achievement gaps, promote access and opportunity, and implement the Every Student Succeeds Act. Good luck with that! We definitely have an ambitious agenda for the next 10 months. But, you know, the president often tells us big things happen in the fourth quarter. I think that's exactly right. So we expect to get a lot done over the next 10 months.Well what, specifically, are your top three priority goals in the next 10 months that you think are realistic and achievable?We're very focused on implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act. We've got to put in place regulationsNew Education Secretary: Bold Agenda. Just 10 Months To Get It Donehttp://wrvo.org/post/new-education-secretary-bold-agenda-just-10-months-get-it-done
86335 as http://wrvo.orgSat, 26 Mar 2016 14:00:00 +0000New Education Secretary: Bold Agenda. Just 10 Months To Get It DoneEric WesterveltKelly Henderson loves her job, teaching at Newton South High School in a suburb west of Boston. But she's frustrated she can't afford to live in the community where she teaches: It's part of the 10th most expensive housing market in the nation."For people in the private sector, they're probably saying 'Oh poor you, you can't live in the community where you work, what's the big deal?' " says Henderson, 35. "And I guess part of the nature of public education and why it's a different kind of job, is that it's all-consuming — as it should be."Like a lot teachers, she wants to be a vital part of the community where she works. She says people in high-cost communities need to remember that a teacher's job doesn't end at 3:00."You want them to coach a team, you want them to teach all day, you want them to be a faculty adviser, you want them to be able to give your kid extra help before school, after school — whenever."And that leaves teachers with a dilemma: "We're constantly forced to makeMore Teachers Can't Afford To Live Where They Teach http://wrvo.org/post/more-teachers-cant-afford-live-where-they-teach
86233 as http://wrvo.orgThu, 24 Mar 2016 09:38:00 +0000More Teachers Can't Afford To Live Where They Teach Eric WesterveltHas American education research mostly languished in an echo chamber for much of the last half century?Harvard's Thomas Kane thinks so.Why have the medical and pharmaceutical industries and Silicon Valley all created clear paths to turn top research into game-changing innovations, he asks, while education research mostly remains trapped in glossy journals?Kane, a professor of education at Harvard's Graduate School of Education, points out that there is no effective educational equivalent of the Food and Drug Administration, where medical research is rigorously vetted and translated into solutions. Maybe, he says, there should be.It's been 50 years since the publication of the highly influential "Equality of Educational Opportunity" study — better known as the Coleman Report, after its author, James Coleman. And after a half-century, Kane writes in a new article, we should have made much more progress toward closing the achievement gap: the educational equivalent of the fight againstThere Is No FDA For Education. Maybe There Should Behttp://wrvo.org/post/there-no-fda-education-maybe-there-should-be
85468 as http://wrvo.orgMon, 07 Mar 2016 15:30:00 +0000There Is No FDA For Education. Maybe There Should BeEric WesterveltCopyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit ERIC WESTERVELT, HOST: Today, we're going to dig into the challenges people of color face when it comes to navigating the tech industry. For African-Americans, rising through the ranks of the tech world is challenging on its own. Aaron Saunders is taking what he's learned and using it to prepare young black programmers-in-training for the tough realities of a career where almost everyone is white. As part of our Black History Month series called BlackAnd, where we bring you stories of people navigating more than one identity, today we're going to talk about being black in the tech industry. Aaron Saunders is CEO of Clearly Innovative, a tech company here in Washington, D.C., that builds a range of digital products. He joins us in our studio in Washington. Aaron, welcome to the program.AARON SAUNDERS: Thank you very much.WESTERVELT: So tell us your story. You're in your 50s. Growing up, did you have a mentor that guided you toward tech, or did youBeing Black In The Tech Industryhttp://wrvo.org/post/being-black-tech-industry
85123 as http://wrvo.orgSun, 28 Feb 2016 22:19:00 +0000Being Black In The Tech IndustryEric WesterveltCopyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.Russell Simmons Has Your Oscars Alternativehttp://wrvo.org/post/russell-simmons-has-your-oscars-alternative
85124 as http://wrvo.orgSun, 28 Feb 2016 22:19:00 +0000Russell Simmons Has Your Oscars Alternative